Jinxes, Curses and Everything In Between
by swanglade37
Summary: These will be drabbles set in the same universe. Word count: 300 to 1000. Hogwarts AU! Poll on my profile for which characters you guys want to see in this series. Updates no longer on Saturdays, but they will come...eventually.
1. Thalia Grace

**September 1, 2005**

"You can remove your head from the window, Thals. I promise we're moving." Thalia Grace turned around for the split second it took to punch her little brother. The brat dodged easily and snickered at her snarl of frustration. "Why _are_ you looking anyway, sis? Dad left before the train did and Mom didn't even make it off of the couch this morning."

"Mom's chances of being a good mother are about even with your chances of remembering to turn lights off when you leave a room." Thalia said flatly. Their mother had long been a point of contention in their family. Dad loved her (despite the fact that they had been divorced for longer than Jason had been alive), but everyone else hated her except Auntie Hestia.

"I know," Jason said quietly. The siblings shared a sad look before Thalia turned back to the window. By now they had, of course, left Kings Cross Station behind, but she kept looking, desperately hoping, trying to see– "Hey!"

"–is for horses," Thalia finished, a little annoyed at being drawn from her thoughts again. "Aside from that, what do you want?"

"You never answered my question!" Jason exclaimed, scowling at her.

Thalia sighed. "Luke."

"What?"

"I was looking for Luke."

"I should have known you were looking for your boyfriend!" Jason said, chortling.

"He's not my boyfriend!" He was, but that wasn't Jason's business.

"Right. And we all in this car believe that." The scepticism in his voice was evident, but Thalia ignored him and busied herself with digging around in her bag for the Galleons her stepmother had given her at Kings Cross.

"Jason!"

"Thalia!" he mimicked. She aimed a punch agan, and this time it landed. "Ow!"

"Payback."

"If he's not your boyfriend," his tone clearly relaying skepticism, "why were you looking for him?"

"Because he said he'd make sure Annabeth got to the platform this morning, and I wanted to know if he stuck around." That actually _had_ been the reason.

When Thalia had run away at the age of nine, she'd met fellow runaway Luke. Three years later the two of them had practically raised seven-year-old Annabeth Chase for a few months. The authorities had caught up to them eventually and sent them all home. Luke to a missing father and a crazy mother, Thalia to a busy father and an unreliable mother and poor Annabeth to a mother who worried but didn't comment, a stepmother who commented but didn't worry, and a father who forgot to worry _or_ comment. Ever since, both Thalia and Jason had treated Annabeth like a sister, and they and Luke had spent many a day in Thalia's father's ridiculously large manor.

Then Luke had graduated from Hogwarts. Now, Luke spent a lot of time fighting with the Wizengamot, trying to convince them to give him custody of Annabeth, and Thalia and Jason saw him half as much as they used to. Annabeth, now a second year Slytherin, fought alongside him, but the lords and ladies weren't listening - probably because Annabeth's mother was one of them.

Thalia, a seventh-year Gryffindor, had been with them every step of the way - emotionally and fiscally. Since she'd been forcibly sent back to her parents, she'd spent her time wrangling and raising Jason, who, at age eleven, was finally old enough for her to feel comfortable leaving him alone so she could sneak out and meet Luke.

And this year, Luke had promised he'd be there, both to say goodbye to Thalia and Annabeth, and to wish Jason a good seven years at Hogwarts. Thalia missed him, so seeing him had been fantastic, but she wished he'd stayed longer.

The new few hours were passed in relative silence, with one Grace making a comment here or there but no conversations. About three hours into the ride, a boy poked his head through.

"Do you guys have space for two more?" he asked. Thalia looked at him and gasped.

"Percy!"

He looked at her weirdly. "Yeeees?"

"Percy, it's me, Thalia!"

Percy blinked vacantly for a second, then realization cleared his eyes. "Sweet Circe, _Thalia_!"

Thalia laughed. "Get over here, cuz!" She hugged him tightly and ruffled his hair. "It hasn't changed at all!" she chortled as he yelped in protest.

Jason coughed. "Uh, Thals? 'Cuz'?"

Thalia looked at him. "You don't remember Percy? The two of you instigated a ridiculous number of pillow fights when you were little. He's our cousin."

Percy waved in his friend and sat opposite the Graces. "It's okay if you don't, man. I barely remember you two, either. Oh, this is my best friend, Grover Underwood. We're both in Hufflepuff."

"Second year, right?" Thalia said. "Or am I misremembering your age?"

"Second year," Percy confirmed.

"Do you know Annabeth Chase?"

Percy's friend Grover bleated a laugh. " _Does_ he? Half of the time, those two are best friends. The other half, they can't agree on _anything_. It's ridiculous."

"No, it isn't," Percy argued. "We just have different ideas sometimes."

" _Sometimes_ " Grover muttered. " _Sometimes_."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know Annabeth. She's cool."

"Yeah, she is," Jason agreed. "So, what's Hufflepuff like beyond the rumors?"

Percy smiled. "It's amazing," he told him. "I love it there."

"Me too," Grover said. "Hard work always pays off. And everyone is friendly."

Percy looked thoughtful. "Jason, you're an incoming first year, right?"

"Yeah."

"I have a neighbor named Frank. He's also a first year. I'd 've sat with him, but his dad hates me. Anyway, I think you two would get along. He's half Chinese and really tall; you can't miss him."

"Oh… kay?"

Percy grinned at him. "You don't have to, man. It's just a thought."

"Thanks. For, uh, the suggestion."

"No sweat dude."

With that, awkward statements flowed into easy conversation and Thalia felt another missing piece slide into place.

 **Hey guys! Guess who survived finals? ME! Hooray! And I'm not going on vacation until February, so I have a lot of time to write this winter!**

 **Okay, this is a story that I promised last year around this time, and I finally got around to writing it in July. Flash forward many months, my mom has been kind enough to type of the twenty-six notebook pages I filled writing the first nine-ish chapters (we should all be thanking her, because if it wasn't for her this story might not have been posted until NEXT winter.**

 **I put a poll on my profile many months ago, and the two people who participated told me that they wanted to see Nico and Thalia, so that's who the first two chapters are about. When you are reading, be sure to check the year at the top of each chapter, or else you are going to be** _ **very**_ **confused. I will post one chapter a week until I run out of inspiration (but that won't happen until February or so). I'll try to update on Saturdays, but no promises.**

 **You guys are awesome! See you on Saturday!**

 **-swanglade37**


	2. Nico di Angelo

**February 23, 2011**

 _You can do this. You can do this._ Nico di Angelo had been repeating the mantra for two hours. He was positive he was garnering stares, and certain he'd be getting a lecture later from his sister about standing out. But the fourteen-year-old didn't care. Today was the day he was going to march into Professor Triptolemus's office and request an extra credit assignment. He could do it. He was going to do it. He was definitely going to do it … tomorrow. His grade could wait until tomorrow. Dejectedly, he walked all the way down to the Slytherin dorms. Extra credit in Herbology would have to wait until another day.

"Hey, di Angelo!" He paused, although it was entirely possible that Bianca was somewhere ahead of him. Surprisingly, the boy who had called his name _was_ calling for him. Nico recognized him: William Solace, Hufflepuff in his year, object of Nico's admiration for six months.

"What is it, Solace?" Nico asked. Inside, he was grinning.

Solace held out a piece of paper. "You dropped this in Herbology this morning. I've been looking for you all day."

Nico took the paper and his face burned with embarrassment. It was the last quiz they'd taken and his D stood out in red amongst the black. He couldn't help it; he killed every plant he touched, which made Herbology an absolute nightmare. When he looked up, however, he found no judgement or - thank _Hades_ \- pity. He shook his head inwardly. _Hufflepuffs_.

That wasn't to say Nico had anything against Hufflepuffs. His cousin Percy was a seventh year Hufflepuff, and he'd made it all the way to Head Boy. Also a Hufflepuff was Nico's half-sister Hazel. She was a third year. He didn't see her much since she lived with her mom, and he and Bianca lived with their dad. The only Hufflepuff he really had anything against was Frank Zhang, but that had more to do with the fact that Frank had a crush on Hazel than the fact that he had a yellow and black tie.

And… none of that had anything to do with Will. "Thanks," Nico muttered.

Will's face lit up. "You're welcome," he said.

Nico nodded awkwardly at him. "Right." Then he rushed out to ran back to his dorm, but physically bumped into Piper McLean. Nico liked Piper, he really did, but she was _way_ too intuitive. Five hours after he'd admitted to himself that he liked Will, Piper dug it out of him. She'd also been responsible for getting Katie Gardner and Travis Stoll together, back when she was a fourth year. She was now a sixth year. To say Nico was scared of her would be an understatement.

"Hey, Neeks!" she said.

"Not 'Neeks', just 'Nico'," he reminded her.

"You talked to Will!" Piper declared.

"You're magic," he sighed.

"Well, duh," she grinned. "Did you tell him?"

Nico eyed her. "You are way too excited about my love life."

"That wasn't an answer, Nico."

"Of course I didn't tell him, Piper! Besides he was only there to give me an Herbology quiz I'd gotten a D on."

Piper sighed. "You're harder to crack than Katie. Fine, let's forget about Will. You can help me plan jaw-dropping hairstyles. And, before you start, I know you're all about blending in, but this is for _me_. It's fun to see Jason try to name my hairstyle of the day.

"You do know he's my cousin, right?"

"Yes, but as my best friend in this house - "

I thought Annabeth was your best friend."

"She _is_ , but she has 'Head duties'."

"In other words, liplock with Percy."

"Precisely! So you see, you _have_ to help me, because if you don't I'll have to ask _Drew_."

"Okay, okay, I'll help. But so help me Hades if you do anything to _my_ hair, I will dump an entire bottle of pumpkin juice on your hair feathers."

"Fine. Leave my feathers alone!"

Will problems would be solved tomorrow, Nico decided, as would Herbology grades. Right now he was with his best friend and he was going to focus on that. Piper needed him. Will could wait. Now, onto the eternal question of French braids or Dutch braids…

 **Well, I'm still not completely sold on this chapter (six months after writing it, classic me) but it's good enough to post. This will be one of the shortest ones, but none of these are going to be long. The word average is in the story description.**

 **Hope you guys like this. I changed my profile page again, and there's something in there just for you guys, so be sure to check that out! Happy (almost) New Year!**

 **~swanglade37**


	3. Katie Gardner

**November 18, 2008**

" … and then at the end of this row, we could put the Venomous Tentacula?" Billie seemed so hopeful that Katie hated to burst her bubble.

"No that won't work. Venny doesn't get along with the Madrakes, remember?" Meg had no such reservations. Katie frowned at her then turned back to Billie, who now looked like she was going to cry.

"Meg, you could've phrased that better. And I'm sorry Billie, but she's right. Venny only gets along with the Dancing Marigolds, and if we don't put him hear them, he gets… bitey." Collectively, all of the Demeter's Daughters shuddered. The last time Venny had gotten "bitey", four students had ended up in the hospital wing, and one very unfortunate third year had had to be transferred to St. Mungo's.

"But if we put Venny with the 'golds, what do we do with the ivy?" Miranda, always quick to poke holes in solutions, spoke up.

"The ivy gets along with everything. Put _it_ with the Mandrakes," Katie said. Miranda seemed to consider this.

"That … would work," she said.

"You don't need to sound so surprised," Katie said.

"Sorry, Katie. You just … haven't been here as much the past few months." Miranda didn't say it in a super mean way, but Katie's face heated up with embarrassment anyway. It was true. She'd been spending a lot of time retaliating against Travis Stoll's pranks, and while she was pleased with her success, she had been abandoning her fellow Daughters. She was the president, for Olympus's sake! She needed to do her job. Travis didn't matter as much as Katie's plants.

Travis didn't react well to Katie ignoring him. For a week, he tried to outdo himself. He put Bulbadox Powder in her eggs, turned her shampoo into hair dye, switched her plant water for oil, and rigged the Ravenclaw common room so that whenever anyone moved, a gallon of water got dumped on their head. That last one baffled all of Ravenclaw, because there was always someone in the Ravenclaw common room, and everyone swore they'd neither let Travis in, nor seen him at all. But it didn't really work, because once the Ravenclaws figured out what was happening, they rigged a pulley system to move mannequins until the water supply ran out, and then one of the upper years cast a drying charm and problem solved. They _were_ the smart house after all, and problem solving came as naturally to them as breathing.

All week, Katie had been trying to ignore him. Her fellow Daughters were very pleased. Katie… was trying to be. She knew that with Travis out of the picture, her schoolwork was improving and her plants were growing. Without Travis's influence, she was everything her mother wanted her to be… and that was the problem, Katie realized. Right now, she was the person her mom wanted her to be. She didn't know who _she_ wanted to be. Maybe the Katie she wanted to be had Travis Stoll in her life, and maybe she didn't. But Katie needed to figure that out without outside input.

* * *

 **Hello, and how are we doing on this fine Saturday evening? This is my last Saturday before school starts up again, so if it seems like I've abandoned you for a month and a half or so, I promise I haven't. School is very demanding and I have much less time than I'd like to write for you all. I promise I would never forget about you guys!**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter! Vote on the poll, please!**

 **~swanglade37**


	4. Leo Valdez

**September 1, 2005**

Leo looked around. He knew no one except the girls who'd sat in the same compartment as him on the train. One of them was Piper, he remembered. She was his age. Then there was Drew, who was a second year Slytherin, and Silena, a fifth year Ravenclaw. Piper had said they'd been raised as sisters by Aphrodite Dove, but had no actual relation. Leo looked around and found her talking to two boys who looked like the people they'd shared a boat with, but he couldn't be sure. Their names had been Jacob and Farley, he thought. Unless they were Jamie and Fred? Ah, whatever. He knew Piper, at least. He walked over to them.

"Leo!" Piper greeted cheerfully. "You remember Jason and Frank, right?" Jason and Frank! That was it. Those were their names. Leo nodded, trying to be casual.

"What house are you hoping for, Leo?" Jason asked.

Leo shrugged. "No clue. What about you guys?"

"My sister's in Gryffindor, "Jason said,"so that would be cool. But my other sister is a Slytherin, so I'd be fine with that too. And my cousin's a Hufflepuff, so that's also okay."

"What about Ravenclaw?" Leo asked.

"That would also be okay."

"You have two sisters? I thought you just had one," Frank said.

"How do you know how many sisters Jason has?" Leo asked.

"He's Jason Grace. His father is Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. But the Prophet says Zeus and Beryl Grace had two children, not three."

"Annabeth isn't my blood sister. Thalia's known her for fiveyears, though, and she spends a lot of time with us. That's why I consider her family, even though she isn't actually."

"Annabeth Chase?" You've known Annabeth Chase since she was seven?" Piper asked.

"Who's Annabeth Chase?" Leo asked, feeling really dumb.

"She's a second year Slytherin," Frank said, "but she's famous because she's the subject of a custody case that's lasted more than two years. Jason, you know her, what's her opinion?"

Jason smiled. "Annabeth is fully in favor of living under the guardianship of Luke Castellan, who, fun fact, is Thalia's boyfriend. I've known him for ages too."

"Guys!" Leo hissed. "The Sorting's beginning!" Leo watched as Anderson, Riley through Fredricksen, Carl were Sorted. Then Grace, Jason was called. And Leo waited.

The Sorting Hat rested on Jason's head for a solid ten minutes. Leo and Piper had a silent argument about Disney princesses, some guy who Leo thought was named Lewis (but could also have been named Lawrence, Lucas, or even Leland) built a contraption out of paper clips and magnets, and Frank picked at his tie so much it ripped a little. Finally, it made a decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat yelled. Jason slipped it off of his head with a relieved sigh and handed it to Gorman, Seamus, who was promptly sorted into Hufflepuff. Apparently, Jason was just that difficult.

A few Sortings later, "McLean, Piper!" was called.

Piper waved to Leo and Frank. "Wish me luck!" she said.

"Good luck!" Frank said. Leo echoed the sentiment. Piper slipped the hat on. A few seconds later, it called out, "SLYTHERIN!"

"What's your last name?" Leo asked Frank.

"Zhang," he said gloomily. "I'm always last. What about you?"

"Valdez," Leo admitted. "I'm at the end too."

Sure enough, Ng, Billie through Stoll, Conner sat on the stool before "Valdez, Leo!" was announced. Leo made a face at Frank and sat down.

Hmm, bravery, loyalty and wisdom in equal regard, the hat said. But where to put you? It was silent for a little bit. Ah, but not a love of learning per se, just a love of building. Not Ravenclaw then. It was silent again. Leo wondered how much time was passing, which turned into a wish for a watch, which turned into a plan for building a watch. He was just thinking over the possible metals involved when the hat spoke again. Yes, yes, I see. You would do well in "GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was shouted and the Gryffindor table cheered. The hat was taken off of Leo's head and he was vaguely aware of Von Schweetz, Vanellope being called as he took a seat next to Jason.

Finally, after Vanellope was Sorted, Frank's name was called. He was the last one, as he'd predicted. As quickly as it had with Seamus Gorman, the hat declared him a "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Leo felt a pang of sadness. He'd hoped he and Frank would be in the same house. Same with him and Piper. At least he had Jason, he mused, and Piper was in the same house as Annabeth Chase and Drew, and Frank was with Jason's cousin.

The watch plans rose to the forefront of Leo's mind again as he piled his plate high with food. Maybe he could rope someone in to help him build it.


	5. Hazel Levesque

**December 3, 2011**

Hazel sighed, which immediately caught the attention of Percy and Bianca. "I'm fine," she said, holding up a hand to try and beat the inevitable question. Bianca nodded and turned back to the game, but Percy kept looking at her. She hugged him. "Really, Perce, I'm good. I'd be more concerned about Jason."

"He's up against Annabeth," Percy snorted. "He deserves what's coming to him."

Hazel laughed. "Nice to see you believe more in your girlfriend than our cousin."

Percy shrugged. "I never bet against Annabeth." Sure enough, as soon as he said that, Annabeth slammed a Bludger at Jason. It missed his face, but whacked his arm instead. His face screwed up, but he didn't make any distinguishable sounds. Hazel was impressed. Annabeth was _vicious_ on the pitch. Slytherin versus Gryffindor was the most awaited game of the season thanks to Annabeth's and Jason's respective captaincy. Jason was also the only member of their group of cousins who played Quidditch. His sister Thalia was afraid of heights, Hazel and Percy were both allergic to the lather used on broomsticks, and Nico and Bianca couldn't stand out as special in any way or there'd be issues. Strictly speaking, Hazel shouldn't stand out either, but so few people knew she was related to Nico and Bianca, it didn't really matter.

A cheer arose from the Slytherin section and Hazel realized that Ethan Nakamura had caught the Snitch. She offered no opinion, even as Percy cheered and Bianca groaned. Jason seemed upset, but not entirely unsurprised. Hazel wasn't either. Annabeth _hated_ losing.

Later, in the old Alchemy classroom, Percy pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. "So you can write to Thals and tell her you won," he said, eyes twinkling. He handed it to Annabeth.

Jason snatched it out of her hands. "Not if I write her first!"

Annabeth poked him in the arm, right in the bruise she'd put there. He hissed in pain and Annabeth took it back.

"You don't fight fair," Jason groaned.

"I'm a Slytherin," Annabeth said, settling down again beside Percy and kissing his cheek. "It's kind of what we do." Percy put an arm around her and pulled her closer. She obliged and took a Dicta-Quill out of her pocket. "'Dear Thalia,'" she began, "'I'm pleased to tell you that Slytherin won the Quidditch game. Please tell Luke that trick of his worked perfectly, as always.'"

"On _me!_ " Jason cut in. "She used it on _me_ , your perfect, innocent brother who was trying to help _our_ house win!"

"Also tell Luke that Dad sent another apology letter. Should I reply this time?"

"No!" Percy and Jason said at the same time.

"I'm asking Thals, not you two," Annabeth said. "'Anyway, I hope you and Luke are enjoying your honeymoon.'"

"You should've gone to Hawaii," Jason said. "It's supposed to be beautiful there."

"No, they _should_ have gone to Italy," Bianca said.

"Annabeth and I approve of Greece!" Percy declared.

"Are you two going to go there on _your_ honeymoon?" Piper asked.

Percy blushed. "Piper, we aren't even engaged."

" _Yet_ ," Hazel and Leo said at the same time. Percy blushed even more and hid his face in Annabeth's hair.

"Thalia, they're being mean to me! Mark them stop!" Percy said.

"Everyone, shut up! This is my letter!" Annabeth shouted. "'See you guys for winter break! Love, Annabeth.'"

"P.S. Go to Bora Bora next time!" Piper shouted.

"There won't _be_ a next time!" Annabeth said.

"Oh. Right. Sorry Thalia and Luke!"

"And, we're done." Annabeth tapped the Dicta-Quill with her wand and it stopped writing.

Piper went over to her boyfriend. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

Jason smiled at her. "Yeah. Nothing Healing Club can't fix."

"Or Asclepius," Frank said. I don't get why you subject yourself to that nonsense. They treat you like a lab rat."

"But I avoid being lectured by Professor Bellona," Jason said, "which means Reyna doesn't find out."

"Which means you avoid a double lecture," Leo said, "and on the topic of Healing Club, Nico, have you talked to Will lately?"

"That has nothing to do with Healing Club!" Nico declared as blush dusted his cheeks and made him look healthier. Hazel was of the opinion that Nico needed someone to take care of him. Whether that person was her, Bianca, Percy, or Will depended on whether or not Nico summoned up the courage to tell Will how he felt or not. Also, Hazel loved her brother more than anything, but she refused to take care of him for the rest of his life. She knew Bianca felt the same way. And Percy had such a good heart that he'd let it happen without saying anything, but Nico wouldn't do that to Percy.

"Yes, it does," Piper said. " _Will_ 's in Healing Club."

"You really need to tell him, man," Percy said. "It'll help."

"Like you and Rachel?" Nico challenged.

"Rachel and I worked better as friends. It just took 'dating' for us to get that. Besides, Will always blushes when anyone says your name."

"Percy's right," Hazel chimed in. "It's as adorable as when you do it."

"I'm not 'adorable'," Nico said.

Bianca patted him on the head. "Yes, you are."

"Embrace the cuteness, dude!" Leo bellowed.

Nico glared at him. "Too loud, Leo."

"No such thing!" Leo said happily.

When he started bouncing in his seat, Jason took him by the arm. "I think it's time we got him to bed," he said apologetically. He kissed Piper lightly. "Will you give me a hint for tomorrow's style?"

Piper thought about it. "It won't be the same as the one I have right now."

"That isn't helpful!"

"It isn't?" Piper pretended to be sorry. "Oh well."

"We should be going as well," Bianca said, pulling Hazel to her feet. She kicked Percy lightly. "Come on, Kelp Head."

He grinned smugly at her. "Nuh-uh. We're in the Heads dorm. Plus, we have patrol in…" he looked at Annabeth, who checked her watch.

"Eight minutes," she told him.

"Eight minutes," Percy repeated. "Sleep well, see you tomorrow, go away."

Bianca shook her head. "Nico, yo should go to bed too. Being caught out after curfew means you'll be noticed." Nico sighed, but acquiesced. Hazel left with Frank, Piper, and her half-siblings, noting the way Annabeth leaned to Percy and how he was holding her close, but not restricting her movement or breathing. She smiled. If those two _didn't_ get married and have ten children, she'd eat her horse (not really, Arion didn't deserve that).

* * *

 **Hello! It's me, again. Guys, I go back to school again tomorrow, so this is one last present before pre-finals stress, finals, and swim unit kick my butt for the next forever (I know it's just till June, but that's a lot of time to be given tests, projects, and surprises). If I survive, you can bet on another story or chappie sometime near the beginning-middle of June.**

 **~swanglade37**


	6. Silena Beauregard

**September 1, 2005**

Silena watched anxiously as the Sorting Hat was placed on Piper's head. There was very little chance that she would be in Ravenclaw, and even Hufflepuff was a bit of a stretch, but if given a choice between Gryffindor and Slytherin, Silena had no idea what her sister would choose.

The seconds raced by, and soon Piper was declared a Slytherin. Silena was relieved. Even if Piper and Drew spent most of their time fighting, aft least neither one would be alone.

After the Sorting ceremony finished, Silena reached for the nearest plate of aligot. She would celebrate her sister's Sorting with cheesy potatoes. Just as she grabbed them, the plate of chicken smacked her in the face. Drumsticks jabbed her in the eyes, the plate walloped her nose, and the juice dripped down her chin. She ignored her Housemates' offers to help and glared around. "Who was overzealous with the poultry?" she demanded.

A buff African-American guy raised his hand. Silena was ninety-two percent sure that his name was Charles Beckendorf. They'd never talked, but Silena noticed _everything_ around her. Charles was fairly popular, and, like her, was a fifth year. He was always polite, but did little else but build. He was always fiddling with something. "Sorry," he said. "I really didn't mean for that to happen. I just wanted to practice my Summoning Charm, I promise!"

Silena believed him. She nodded awkwardly and sat down again.

A few weeks later, she was practicing her own Summoning Charm with some pillows when she got an idea. She spotted Charles working on yet another invention and walked up to him.

"Hey, Beckendorf. Could you help me with something?"

In tru Ravenclaw fashion, Beckendorf set aside his mechanical doohickey (a very technical term) and gave her his full attention.

Silena blushed a little. "This is going to sound a little ironic, but I'm having trouble with the Summoning Charm."

Beckendork's lips twitched slightly, but he leaned forward anyway.

"Okay, what have you been doing thus far?" he asked. They ended up spending almost three hours together. After Silena's Summoning Charm was dealt with, she helped him with a particularly difficult Transfiguration they'd learned last week in Professor Hecate's class. From there, they compared Potions notes, and then Silena started asking questions about and giving suggestions for his mechanical doohickey (apparently, it was a water purifier). All in all, it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Before you ask why I'm updating on a Thursday night only a couple of weeks before finals… I don't really have an answer. It's a slow night, and I finished this chapter a while ago, so I figured I'd post it. It isn't the longest, but still. A while ago, someone requested Silena's chapter. Whoever it was, I hope you enjoy.**

 **~swanglade37**


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